Plans submitted to turn vacant Grade II listed building in busy Northampton town centre street into laundrette and flats

Proposals have been put forward to West Northamptonshire Council for number 19 Bridge Street to be brought back to life.

The site, located in the All Saints Conservation Area, formerly home to estate agents Your Move, has been empty for around a year.

The proposals include adding a new storey on top of the building and extending the rear with a new single-storey structure, with all changes designed to blend with neighbouring buildings.

The applicants, Urim Sula and Peter Walker of I Build Up, said: “The site benefits from several important points, and we feel it should promote a favourable outcome. The proposal represents a positive contribution to the locality, breathing new life into a listed building through sustainable use for an otherwise vacant building. It contributes to the local housing supply, particularly within an urban and highly sustainable area. The proposed interventions are sensitive, proportionate, and reversible where applicable, enhancing the appearance and function of the local area while bringing economic benefits through investment and construction. Overall, the scheme strikes an appropriate balance between conservation and contemporary need, ensuring the building remains a vibrant and viable part of Northampton’s historic townscape.”

A target decision date has been set for January 8.

The mid- to late-19th century building sits next to the former Angel Hotel and Balloon Bar nightclub, which were recently damaged by fires in 2023 and 2024 and were demolished between July and September 2024 following a court order.

Plans to redevelop the former Angel Hotel site into 47 apartments were approved by West Northamptonshire Council over the summer. The scheme, submitted in 2022, will see the complete redevelopment of 21–23 Bridge Street, a Grade II listed building previously home to Fat Cats’ Cafe and Balloon Bar, to create a residential-led development with commercial units at street level.

In a planning statement, the applicant, AZ Investments Ltd, said the project aims to turn the site into a “high-quality, sustainable development” delivering 47 apartments, a commercial unit fronting Bridge Street, and an office space on Angel Street.

Previous plans to convert the building into a 60-bedroom hotel, approved in 2019, were scrapped after the Covid pandemic rendered the proposal “financially unviable,” according to the developer.

The building’s historic frontage, destroyed by fire, will be reconstructed to match previously approved plans, designed to echo the former Angel Hotel’s appearance. The reinstated façade will feature elements such as a stained-glass bay window and a stucco finish in “steel blue,” in keeping with the building’s original character and the surrounding conservation area, according to plans.

AZ Investments Ltd recently confirmed to the Chronicle & Echo that construction is expected to begin in the New Year, with completion targeted for the end of 2026.

According to the developer, Bridge Street will not be affected by construction other than possibly the pavement, while Angel Street will be more affected.

The historic former Angel Hotel building first went up in flames in January 2012 after a fire was accidentally started by a roofer's torch. The Fat Cats part of the building, constructed between 1814 and 1816, had been held up by eyesore scaffolding until it was demolished in summer 2024.

Following the 2012 blaze, Fat Cats never reopened, but Balloon Bar did in July 2013, later closing for good in 2019.